Bellingham 6, Milford 1: Sutherland stellar in CMSBR North final series

Taylor Sutherland tossed 6 2/3 innings of one-hit and one-run ball and also went 3-for-4 with two RBIs and two runs scored at the plate, as Bellingham bested the Micros 6-1 in the first game of the best-of-three series. Sutherland came within one strike of throwing a no-hitter, as Mike Tracy’s RBI infield hit in the seventh broke up the no-no and the shutout.

During the off-season and regular season, getting back to the South Division Finals was in the back of Bellingham Senior Babe Ruth pitcher Taylor Sutherland’s mind.

Last night against last season’s World Series winner Milford, which bested the higher-seeded Bulldogs in last year’s South Division Finals, Suthlerand showed his determination.

Sutherland tossed 6 2/3 innings of one-hit and one-run ball and also went 3-for-4 with two RBIs and two runs scored at the plate, as Bellingham bested the Micros 6-1 in the first game of the best-of-three series. Sutherland came within one strike of throwing a no-hitter, as Mike Tracy’s RBI infield hit in the seventh broke up the no-no and the shutout.

Game two will be tonight at Fino Field in Milford at 7 p.m.

“Taylor did an excellent job, I couldn’t ask for anything more out of him,” Bulldogs head coach Paul Jacques said after his squad improved to 21-1 overall. “He really commanded the strike zone tonight. He was keeping his curveball and changeup low and he was hitting his spots when he needed to. We have all the confidence in the world in Taylor.”

In his 6 2/3, outside of giving up the one run and one run, Sutherland allowed five walks, struck out eight, and threw 105 pitches.

Sutherland stuck with the three general pitches - fastball, curveball, and changeup - and kept Milford off-balance by mixing up his pitches and hitting his corners. He also frequented his curveball early in the count to get ahead of hitters, which worked primarily because he had established his fastball in the early stages of the game.

“I thought my curveball wasn’t working too well, but I threw it for some strikes and got some strikeouts with that,” Sutherland said. “I just spotted the fastball and they couldn’t really touch it. Coach Jacques calls the game and I’ve been with him for awhile, so he knows me pretty well and we’re on the same page. I like to throw my curveball on the first pitch or even when I’m down in the count to try and keep them off-balance.”

“Sutherland really kept us on our toes, he pitched a great game,”

Milford head coach Jim Cappadoro said after his team fell to 17-6 overall. “You’ve got to take your hat off for him. He just had us going all night with that curveball and we didn’t know what to do with it. It definitely got us out of it early and he was strong up until that seventh inning. Couple walks hurt him, but that was just a great game by him.”

The first inning was huge mental boost for Bellingham, as Sutherland struck out the side to start the game and the Bulldogs then plated a pair of runs in the bottom half of the frame.

Page 2 of 2 - Kyle Goulet reached on an error, stole second, and went to third on a passed ball. Sutherland, batting in the No. 2 spot, then stroked a base hit to left field to bring in Goulet. Kevin Martinis (2-for-4, two RBIs) followed with an RBI double to deep left field to give his team a quick 2-0 advantage.

“I think Taylor striking out the side in the first inning really set the tone,” Jacques said. “Then we came out and got two runs and that was a big morale lift for our team. It let our defense play their game and allowed Taylor to attack the strike zone a little bit more.”

Bellingham made it 4-0 in the second when Joe Mangine, who drew a walk to lead off the inning before stealing second and third, scored on an error and Sutherland later ripped another RBI single.

Martinis’s second RBI double of the game in the fourth and Cody Boucher’s sacrifice fly in the fifth rounded out the scoring.